Leaving Normal
by AnJL
Summary: My very first fanfic. Be kind to my baby. I'm a Lex/Chloe 'shipper. *Updated and finished*
1. Leaving Normal

CLARK P.O.V  
  
Something weird happened today - weirder than normal, which given my life in Smallville, makes it pretty weird. I was walking past the Beanery, looked in through the window to check out who was there - even though the Talon is popular, there are still a few die-hard caffeine freaks, one of whom was in a booth, waving her hands, and talking in that high-octane way she has. No surprise there - then I saw who was with her. No mistaking that head for anyone else. Lex patronising the opposition? Then I saw his face. Chin in hand, he was smiling at Chloe. Really smiling, not the trademark Lex smirk. I recognized the expression - heck, I get it on my own face enough, mostly when Lana's around. My first thought was "what the hell?..." My second was that when, if Pete saw that smile, it wasn't going to take any Nicodemus flower to set him off.   
  
Pete's had a thing for Chloe for years. I can kind of see it. I mean, Chloe's really pretty, in a mess-with-me-and-I'll-kick-your-ass kind of way, impressive for someone that short. I know that she likes me (I'm a dumb farmboy, sure, but not that dumb) but I dunno, it would be like kissing my sister. Last week, when she wanted me to ask her to the Prom, I couldn't do it, and she saw it in my face, I know. I just took off to save Lex and Ryan. I don't feel responsible for Chloe like I do for Lana. Everytime I see those sad, dark eyes, I think "I did that" and I'd do anything to make up for it.  
  
I suppose I feel responsible for Lex, too. I pulled him out of that mobile deathtrap he hit me with (and how weird was that?) So if he goes on to be a world-dominating psychopath it'll be kinda my fault. I know people think our friendship is whacked (and I've heard some other stupid stories, too - as I said, dumb, but not that dumb - I mean, I like girls a lot, and so does Lex. We've had some, um, guy talks) but he needs a friend. People see this rich guy, running a company, but he's not much older than us, not really one of the adults. And for all his bad-boy past, how much can someone fuck up by their twenties? (Uh, sorry - he has had a bad effect on my mouth) I know other people think he's in charge, and there's a hero-worship thing going on, but it's not that. I feel responsible for him - I've seen him vulnerable, little-boy-lost. After that Level III incident when my folks got all..schmoopy, Chloe would say, I saw his face. All the money in the world wouldn't sort that out. So, if I can make him happier, maybe he won't turn out like his father. Still, that goofy smile is really worrying me.  
  
CHLOE P.O.V  
  
Just your usual Friday night in Smallville; I'd put the paper to bed, and gone to the Beanery for a late night latte fix before my dad picked me up when he got off shift. I know the Talon has become the in-place now, but some of us still have some loyalty, you know? Besides, drinking coffee fixed by Lana Lang makes me want to puke. This isn't a green-eyed rant, this is the considered opinion of a caffeine expert. Also, I'd have to watch Clark grinning goofily at her, which also makes me want to puke. I don't hate her the way I used to, but that is not something I need at the end of a long week. At any time. So, I make my way to my usual booth, and there is someone in it. Not good - everyone knows that is my booth on a Friday night - well, all the loners with nowhere else to go. This one is not your usual run-of-the-mill loner - the suit is way too nice. He doesn't see me coming, which is how I see that Lex Luthor is reading a comic book. It's not even one of those bizarro Japanese things, with people doing weird things with their bodies - do not ask me how I know about this stuff. It was a brightly coloured superhero all-American thing. I would have expected the bizarro Japanese manga.  
  
LEX P.O.V  
  
I got busted today. Not legal, Daddy's-money-paying-off-the-cops busted. Sheer gut-wrenching embarrassed busted, and it was the best thing to happen in this cow town since...since I walked into the Torch office first time round? Since trading quips over an interview that I had to convince Clark it was his idea to talk me into? Since I turned into a pathetic wreck of a human being skulking in the same damn booth every Friday waiting for her to show up? I'm drinking coffee in a competitor's business, for Chrissakes! I'm still a bit shaky after being bounced out of my own damn limo last week, that's the nearest thing to an excuse I can come up with. It was getting late, and I figured she wasn't coming this evening, so...and this is so sad, I went and sat in her usual seat. And I began to reacquaint myself with an old classic.  
  
That kid, Ryan, that the Kents took in, made me nervous. He looked at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking - which turned out to be the case. I had people watching him - someday, that kind of talent could be really useful in business. He was going to college...Still, it was strange to remember that I once had a little brother, too. It pulled something up from the depths which I really didn't want to deal with right now. Smallville was making me soft. But I'd turned down Metropolis to stay here. I'd quipped to Clark that he was the little brother I never had. Watching him be the big brother was odd, even more so when I realised that he looked at me the same way sometimes when he thought I wasn't looking. Rueful and amused. The farmboy has hidden depths, and quite a few secrets, which I intend to find out. But this evening, I was just tired and a bit nostalgic, so I'd dug out a copy of "Warrior Angel". I really did love that as a kid - who wouldn't? Plus, as I told the kid, he was bald. So I was a world away, when a snort of laughter told me I was no longer alone. I was busted.  
  
"Lex Luthor, comic geek?"  
  
"It's a classic." I said, feebly.   
  
CHLOE  
  
I notice that he looks a bit more worn than usual.  
  
"I hear you turned down a chance to go back to Metropolis."  
  
He looks almost startled for a fleeting second.  
  
"Did Clark tell you?"  
  
"No...my father. Clark and I...are kind of on the outs at the moment."  
  
LEX  
  
At some point soon, Clark is going to fathom out why I keep trying to hook him up with his cheerleader. Hopefully, this event will happen before he realises that his 'best friend' with a crush the size of Kansas is a gorgeous, talented breath-taking woman. I remember being a teenager - most of it anyway; I went through some...wild patches - and now I'm having flashbacks. Maybe the crush will burn itself out...and maybe there are alien superheroes. Get a grip, Lex.  
  
"Clark is an idiot."  
  
And that would be my voice. Okay. Very suave.  
  
Chloe raises both eyebrows, grins sadistically.  
  
"And would you care to qualify that statement, Mr. Luthor?"  
  
CHLOE  
  
We've all been a little off with each other since the Nicodemus thing. Pete doesn't remember much, though he was really knocked sideways at pulling a gun on Lex Luthor. I've never told him the earlier part, but I look at him differently now. He's quiet, but there's a lot of deep thought going on. Our little triad is no longer so secure. And Clark - I'm just majorly pissed with Clark. And myself. All but threw myself at him to get him to ask me to the Prom, and - stonewall. Heck, I'm a journalist, I know when I'm being BS'd. He is never going to look at me like he looks at Miss Perfect. So the three of us are little cool with each other - stuff is starting to surface that could pull our friendship apart, and it's not like I have that many friends anyway. One of the biggest complications is sitting opposite me now, looking amazingly guilty and unsure for a spoilt rich boy. Maybe he has got Japanese porn in the covers of that thing. And I think he just criticized Clark.  
LEX  
  
Clark is an idiot. He babbled the whole thing to me over a game of pool, and I nearly broke my cue over his head. Chloe Sullivan picked out a pink dress for this guy and admitted to it. Part of me wonders what the dress looks like - observing Chloe's usual dress sense, I would say bohemian, probably with white roses in her hair. White roses and Chloe. Another part of my mind does a guy thing at this point and goes 'American Beauty' on me. Chloe sits down opposite me, combat face on, and says,  
  
"Why would anybody whose brain has not been fried by meteors turn down a chance to go back to Metropolis?"  
  
And I'm off the hook on the Clark bashing.   
  
I miss Metropolis - I definitely miss a whole different side of it to Chloe - but we have landmarks in common. I laugh when she confesses to the 'Daily Planet' offices, stop laughing when she mentions the Luthercorp tower, and twitch when she grins and asks about the comic store by the Park. I find myself telling her about the old movie theatre where I used to hang out instead of going to lectures at Met.U. Her face lights up. I knew this woman was special - she can match me for movie trivia. We're halfway through a game of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon", and I'm watching her mouth, when I realise that we have an audience.  
  
CHLOE  
  
I've been talking to Lex for over an hour. I stopped thinking 'Mr Luthor' quite while back, probably after he dissed John Hughes. It took profuse apologies and another latte to patch that one. This isn't an interview, it's just...conversation. The kind of aimless bicker that I share, used to share, with Pete and Clark. However, he's rich, so I let him pay for the coffee. I'm beginning to see a little of what Clark sees in him now, I think - I mean, I know a lot about the 'crap factory' - Dad says that Lex has made quite a difference to the place. For all the rich playboy pose, he puts in the hours. And he's clever. And good looking...okay, where did that thought come from? Anyway, I've always been a bit more ambivalent than most - he is my dad's boss, for a start. We're both city people in exile. And he has the most amazing blue-grey eyes... that brings my train of thought crashing into the buffers, mental Slamtrak, and I become aware of a presence at my shoulder.  
  
CLARK  
  
Lex sees me coming before Chloe does. Things have been a little strained between us the last few days - all the buried feelings a little less buried. Still, I'm halfway across the coffee shop before I consider why I'm so freaked. After all, this is my good friend Lex talking to my good friend Chloe.   
  
"Hi, guys, what's up?"  
  
Chloe looks startled, and a little of something else I can't define, before she gives her usual grin. And Lex's smile somehow shifts.  
  
"Clark. I thought you would be at the Talon."  
  
"I was just on my way there."  
  
"Well, since Miss Sullivan's lift is here, I'll join you."  
  
Sure enough, Mr. Sullivan is waving through the window. And I wouldn't have thought any more about it, except for the way that Lex held Chloe's coat for her. 


	2. Dangerous Beauty

LEX  
  
It has been a long Saturday morning. Potential investors from Wichita needing careful handling after the PR nightmare of that waste dumping. That was just mildly stressful. This is going to be worse. I woke up this morning, and realised that I have had enough.  
  
I can do this. I've been addressing board meetings since I was sixteen. I've been facing down my father a lot longer. I deal with the Press on a regular basis. I am in control.  
  
I am going to punch in the wrong number if I don't calm down.  
  
"Um, Chloe, hi, it's, er, Lex here. Would you like to, uh, go to Metropolis with me tomorrow?"  
  
A speech worthy of Clark at his scintillating best. Years of expensive education wasted.  
  
I'm wondering - jump off the roof? Drive off another bridge? Seppuku with my sabre?  
  
She says yes.  
  
CHLOE  
  
ohmygodohmygodohmygod. I'm going to Metropolis with Lex Luthor.  
  
These are still not words that I can fit together easily in this space/time continuum. I was so surprised when he called that I said yes before my brain caught up with my mouth. And it's not a business trip.  
  
ohmygodwhatamigoingtowear?  
  
What was I thinking? What was he thinking?   
  
Deep breath. My dad is going to freak. Pete is going to freak. Clark...  
  
Oh.  
  
Hmm.  
  
But I said yes before I thought about it.   
  
I have a possible date. With Lex.  
  
ohmygodihaveadatewithlexwhatamigoingtowear?  
  
I so need to talk to another girl about this. When you realise that my nearest female friend is Lana Lang, then you can appreciate the sick irony that is Smallville life.  
  
LEX  
  
What have I just done?  
  
Tomorrow morning, I am going to pick up the teenage daughter of my plant manager and take her to Metropolis. This will freak out, in no particular order,  
  
1) her father  
2) my father, if the Press find out  
3) her two best friends, one of whom is my friend, the other of whom tried to shoot me a while back  
  
Any of the above will kill me if I hurt her. Then again, if I hurt Chloe,  
  
1) I'll deserve it  
2) She will kill me first  
  
I'm going to jail. Shit, I'm going to hell.  
  
  
CLARK  
  
Saturday afternoon is soccer practice. This means that I get to go hang with Lana at the Talon without the Whitney Fordman look of death.   
  
I'm surprised when Chloe breezes in. She gives me a blankly preoccupied look, and heads straight for Lana.  
  
CHLOE  
  
"Lana, emergency clothing crisis. Possible date."  
  
"Right." Bless the girl, she's already looking for her bag. She's almost impossible to hate, really, though too long in her company will make your teeth hurt. Clark looks like somebody's smacked him.  
  
Good.  
  
"Date?" he says, as if this is the most unlikely thing.  
  
"Yes. People do."  
  
"First date?" asks Lana, practically.  
  
"Possible first."  
  
"Okay. So are we going for casual, cool or slutty?"  
  
"Lana?!"  
  
"Clark." She speaks to him slowly, as if addressing a child. "This is girl talk. Chloe will translate for you later."  
  
My influence is rubbing off.  
  
CLARK  
  
They both rush off, and I'm left wondering what just happened.   
  
Lana just blew me off to go help Chloe choose clothes for a date. What the hell does 'slutty' look like? 


	3. Traffic (1)

LEX  
  
I draw up outside the Sullivan house. Chloe's father opens the door and just looks at me for a moment before he steps to one side, invites me in. I know Gabe Sullivan well. He is not happy about the situation. I wouldn't be. Finding your employer as a prospective boyfriend for your daughter?   
  
"Mr. Sullivan, I will treat your daughter with the utmost respect."  
  
"Can I get that in writing?"  
  
"From the legal department, first thing Monday morning."  
  
"You selling me into white slavery, Dad?" And Chloe comes bouncing down the stairs, dressed for the city in a rather elegant long skirt and a little embroidered jacket. The whole thing topped off with a Metropolis Sharks cap. It works on her.  
  
CHLOE  
  
Nice comment, Sullivan. Both of them smiling up at me. It is so odd to see Lex Luthor in my hallway. He's black-clad and elegant as always. I'm really glad I bought the new top.  
  
He's brought the Ferrari.   
  
"You should have a Smallville bumper sticker."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah." I frame the back of the car. " 'Luthercorp - shit happens.' "  
  
"Appalling woman. Get in." He holds the door for me. "Don't be so ungrateful. My - 'crap factory' pays for your lifestyle. And mine."  
  
LEX  
  
I drive off at an unusually sedate pace. Chloe glares at me.  
  
"I'm not made of glass, Luthor." She growls. "Let's blow this cow-town."  
  
Metropolis is three hours' drive north of Smallville. If you're an arrogant rich kid in a very fast car, you can do it in under two.  
  
Chloe commandeers the music system, and we cross the town limits to something shatteringly loud. It seems like a good omen. She's grinning at me now.  
  
"This could be a real scoop, you know. Lex Luthor, the casual side."  
  
"I don't do lifestyle pieces. Have you got a tape-recorder in that bag of yours?"  
  
"No, it's in the hat." She settles back in the seat. "Actually, I'm taking the day off. Off the record."  
  
"That would be a scoop. Torch editor in relaxation shocker."  
  
"This does not mean that I will not ask you questions, though."  
  
"Oh. Like what?" This could be a bad idea, after all.   
  
"Like...when did you play hockey?"  
  
"Huh?" How did she find out about that?  
Her tongue flicks out, touches her upper lip briefly, and I nearly drive off the road.  
  
"That little notch on your lip. Common amongst certain sports types. So I'm guessing - hockey."  
  
"How do you...no, I don't want to know."  
  
"Clark calls me the Queen of irrelevant facts."  
  
I do not want to talk about Clark. I notice the flicker of shadow on her face, grip the wheel a little tighter.  
  
"It was at one of my more northerly schools. But my father didn't approve of the heir to the Luthor fortune playing such a plebeian sport."  
  
"Hence the fencing?"  
  
"Hence the fencing."  
  
"Funny, I never figured you as being big on team sports."  
  
"Two sharp blades and a heavy stick? The potential for payback was enormous."  
  
"Ah. Again, the emphasis on weaponry. I sense a pattern forming."  
  
CHLOE  
  
Lex is telling me about a fencing tournament against Miskatonic, when I realise that I am just watching his mouth, and imagining him in his fencing kit.  
  
I am falling into the Pit. I was thinking about Lex Luthor's butt. I am damned.  
  
I have no idea what this day is all about.  
  
Or at least, I have an idea, but it seems way too strange.  
  
Then again, we've been living in Smallville. Home of strange.  
  
And there are definitely worse things to think about than Lex's butt.  
  
Crap. Now he wants to know why I'm grinning. 


	4. My So Called Life

LEX  
  
I had no big gesture in mind. I just wanted to see Metropolis again in the company of a beautiful woman. Whilst sober and straight. I spent too much time here out of my head. 'Dr. Luthor's candy stand' in the lab - affordable fun for all. Too much booze, too much everything. And I'd like to claim some memories back. I wanted to see my city through different eyes. I wanted to see Chloe's Metropolis. That little coat thing that Chloe's wearing isn't warm enough, so I wrap her in my jacket. She looks genuinely surprised, then grins at me.  
  
"Well, fair's fair..."  
  
I don't do personal contact.  
  
Ever since I was nine years old, one of the things that has set me apart has been my appearance. It's become a perverse sort of pride. So I'm really not prepared when Chloe reaches up and jams her Sharks cap on my head.  
  
Luthor's don't do touching. So why am I holding a small hand that fits nicely into mine?  
  
CHLOE  
  
I have to laugh. Lex looks like somebody has punched him. Then he smiles, tips the cap brim back with his thumb.  
  
"You can call me Al."  
  
And to my surprise, and I think his, when our hands touch, he wraps his hand round mine.   
  
LEX  
  
So we look in the bookshops, and walk in the Park, and I get dragged to look at Chloe's Grail, the 'Daily Planet'. I'm not keen on the new strawberry marshmallow mocha at the coffee stand. Chloe is even less keen on the sushi at the noodle bar. It's too nice a day to go into the Museum, even for the Luthor wing. I am forced, under pain of excessive nagging, to reveal the source of my comic books. The little film theatre is closed until the evening performance, but we both look in through the doors. And with this stupid cap on, nobody gives me a second glance. And we talk. Books, films, plays, things from school. I tell her about Julian. She tells me about losing her mother and her home, moving to a strange new town. With a father who loved her, and new friends. My experiences are the dark mirror of hers.   
  
We stay away from the club district.  
  
We end up on top of the commerce building in Metropolis - it's the only place higher than the Luthercorp tower, and it pisses my father off. One of the many reasons I like it up here.   
  
CHLOE  
  
The Luthercorp tower is so revoltingly phallic.   
  
I have to wonder what 'Alexander Joseph' would have been like without the 'Luthor' So I ask.  
  
LEX  
  
"Without the money...what would you have been?"  
  
"A doctor." I never told anybody that before. Without the money, what else would I have been? Probably still a sarcastic pain in the ass. "I'd have tapped the Wayne Foundation for a scholarship. And without the attempt at empire building in Smallville, I'd still have a head of hair."  
  
"What colour?"  
  
"Very, very red."  
  
"You were a red-head?"  
  
"Yes. It would have clashed horribly with your prom dress."  
  
Shit.  
  
Chloe stares at me. All the colour, all the life and laughter has drained away.  
  
"He told you?" she whispers. "Did he laugh? Did you both laugh at stupid Chloe and her stupid crush?"  
  
"No!" I tighten my grip on her hand before she can run. Why is it that this woman can reduce me to an incoherent wreck? "No. Clark told me about Ryan, about his ability to...read people. And he mentioned the dress."  
  
"I'm surprised he remembered." She sounds bitter.  
  
"As I said the other day, Clark is an idiot."  
  
"Oh, that was what that was about."   
  
"Yes." Time to close the deal, Luthor. "I think he's an idiot to prefer a cheerleader, but he's my friend. So I want him to be happy. And I never want you to be second best."  
  
Carpe diem.  
  
" I never want to be second best."  
  
  
CHLOE  
  
"I want you to look at me." he says. "Not a headline, not an interview, not Clark's friend, not your father's employer. Just Lex."  
  
I do look at him. He's tall, nicely built. He's got it all, charm, elegance, good manners, good dress sense. The man is good-looking. He's brilliant, sarcastic and funny.  
  
He's brought me to Metropolis and shown me a bit of his soul.   
  
He's sexy as hell.  
  
He's looking at me, expecting...what? Every so often, I think I catch an expression in those smoky eyes, and then he hides it away again.  
  
I look up at him.  
  
He looks down at me.  
  
"...this is such a fucking cliche..." he says against my mouth.  
  
"...shall we stop..."  
  
"...hell, no..."  
  
I want to be here. Even if it doesn't last past today, I am standing on top of the world, being kissed by (and kissing ) the sexiest man in Metropolis. It's everything that I could want. I start to giggle.  
  
"What?" He narrows those same eyes at me, suspicious.  
  
Somehow, I've put my arms around his neck. His are round my waist. It feels good. Surprisingly safe. Like Clark. Like Clark used to make me feel.  
  
"I think I'm in like with you, Chloe Sullivan."  
  
"I... like... you too - Alexander."  
  
  
LEX  
  
She leans back against me, pulls my arms down round her and holds them, so we're hugging gently. And I put my cheek against her hair. We take it turns to point out things on the skyline, and occasionally, she twists round and we kiss.  
  
This is the happiest I can remember being. 


	5. Traffic (2)

CHLOE  
  
I miss chinese food - quite literally, I am so out of practice with chopsticks. I am reduced to using one of them to fend Lex off out of the noodles and using my fingers to snitch a bit of chicken. He's laughing at me, trying to teach me to parry properly.  
  
We're in a small restaurant near the student district. Nobody knows us, nobody is giving us a second glance. We're just another couple. Lex actually has to grab a passing waitress to order another beer. That makes three. He offers me one, and I have to remind him that I'm underage.  
  
"If you're having another of those, I guess that makes me designated driver." I grin at him. "That makes you my responsible adult supervisor. Cool."  
  
It was worth not having that beer just for his expression.  
  
LEX  
  
When she refuses a beer, I remember her age. The crack about adult supervision was low. Still, she's right about the beer. It's a while since I drank anything other than the odd scotch. So I let her drive.  
  
I'm used to being driven, but in the back of the limo. Or the occasional squad car. The passenger seat is new territory. Chloe drives the same way she approaches life, all fire and passion. She drives like me, actually, only with rather more shouting at other road-users.  
  
CHLOE  
  
I love this Ferrari. I love the speed, the freedom.  
  
Given time, I think I could love the owner, too.  
  
LEX  
  
The strangest thing about today? Nothing tried to immolate, mutilate or decapitate either of us. Nobody hit me over the head, or put a gun or a camera in my face.  
  
There's a Talking Heads song, that goes 'heaven is a place where nothing ever happens.' I think I know what David Byrne meant now.  
  
Yet everything has changed.   
  
Luthor's don't do affection.  
  
Luthor's do aloof, distant, ruthless, arrogant...  
  
We do lonely rather well.   
  
Perhaps this termagent abusing everyone else on the I-90 will change that for me.   
  
We cross back into Smallville, and she stops at my gate.  
  
"Your stop."  
I lean down to the window, kiss her very gently,  
"Bring the car back tomorrow evening, and I'll give you a ride home."  
Only after the tail-lights vanish do I realise that my housekeys, along with my wallet and phone, are still in my jacket. 


	6. About Last Night

CHLOE  
  
Dad was waiting up for me last night, and pretending not to. He wants to say something, I know, settles for saying that he trusts me, but he wants me to be careful. Like I don't know that this whole situation could make the meteor shower look like skipping pebbles.  
  
A problem we didn't think of. A sparky new Ferrari with distinctive vanity plates in the driveway. Lucky we don't have that many neighbours. I decide not to drive it to school, despite the temptation. But I do wear the jacket. I try to tell myself that it's to keep things safe, but really, I like the smell of the cologne. Pete gives me a hard look when I get on the bus, and I know I'm going to have to 'fess up. I just hope that Clark has his usual sense of time-keeping today. I need to tell Pete, before he hears it from anyone else.  
  
He sighs, and a little part of me breaks up at what I see in his face. Resignation, hurt, a little temper. The he shows me why he is one of my best friends ever. He gives me a half-smile.  
  
"Hey, I still want to kill that dude, but I want you to be happy, Chloe. You're one of my best friends. He hurts you, though, I will shoot him."  
  
  
CLARK  
  
Chloe's wearing a new jacket today. It looks good on her, if a little large, soft and expensive, and somehow worryingly familiar. A short, sharp ring tone from one pocket makes her jump - when she pulls the phone out, keys come too. A bunch of keys with a nice leather fob and Ferrari markings. She scrabbles for them, staring at the phone like it's bitten her.  
  
"Aren't you going to answer it?"  
  
"Uh. No. I don't think so." She crams everything back in the pockets.  
  
CHLOE  
  
I do not want to explain to Lionel Luthor who I am and why I have his son's cell phone. A paranoid part of me wonders if he knows, and that's why he's ringing.  
  
CLARK  
  
A familiar jacket. Expensive phone. Ferrari keys.  
  
Oh shit.  
  
I try to keep my voice light. I'm not sure I'm successful.  
  
"So...good date?"  
  
From the look I just got, I was not successful.  
  
"Yes, actually."   
  
I've lost something I didn't know I had.  
  
CHLOE  
  
I take a deep breath. How dare Clark be pissed with me? Or with Lex? Did he think we would just wait around to picked up when Lana wasn't around?   
  
"I'm a big girl, now, Clark. You don't need to protect me from this. Pete...I know how Pete feels. Really feels. I know he's going to hurt. But I can't look on him as anything but a friend." Crunch time, Sullivan. "The same way that you can't look on me. But I can't not date because of his feelings. Or because you disapprove, for whatever reason. I thought long and hard about who would be upset and why. But what it comes down to, is; I like him. He likes me. For once, it's mutual."  
  
I'm breaking out of our safe little circle, because it's getting too small. And I don't want to keep hurting.  
  
  
  
CLARK  
  
I watch her stalk away with my mouth open.   
  
"Hey, Clark. You're catching flies, there." Pete claps me on the shoulder. He follows my gaze.  
  
Then Pete surprises me.  
  
"This sucks. Clark, man, you got no call to be jealous, okay? You didn't want the girl, she didn't want me. She put up with you dogging Lana, I put up with her dogging you. Now, she's moving on. The fact that it's your freakshow buddy sucks bigtime, but she chose it. Don't go bitching - this isn't all about you."   
  
I don't know what to think right now. Am I jealous? Why?   
  
Because Chloe has had the courage to break out of the routine. Because I haven't. Because it's my friend Lex. But I won't, I can't, let it destroy our friendship. Friendships. Pete seems to have a better handle on it than I have. Though - 'freakshow buddy'? I realise that I suspect Lex's motives. And that makes me feel...shitty. 


	7. Courage Under Fire

LEX  
  
I wanted to fill the Torch office with flowers, but I didn't think Chloe would appreciate that gesture. I hope she likes the gift, though.  
  
The flowers are going to be waiting for her when she gets home.  
  
Gabe Sullivan just gave me a long look this morning; I think I will need a word with legal.   
  
Clark shows up in my office at lunch-time. I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop all day, and I'm relieved that he's finally here. I'm also relieved that I'm on the other side of a substantial desk. He just looks at me for a moment, uncharacteristically solemn.  
  
"Hi, Lex."  
  
"Hi." A beat. "What can I do for you, Clark?"  
  
"You know."  
  
I know. Mentally, I suppress a sigh. Teenagers.  
  
"And your problem is?"  
  
"What's going on, Lex?"   
  
"Critical truth, Clark? I got fed up of watching you walk on that girl's feelings. She deserves better." I walk round the desk. I'm not backing down from a...friend?   
  
CLARK  
  
Part of me wants to say "But...you?" and I feel really bad. This is no way to treat a friend. Lex is looking at me like he knows exactly what's going through my mind. He probably does.  
  
"So...I'm okay to be your friend, but anyone else is off limits?" he asks softly, and I wince. "Come on, Clark. Corrupting a minor would be new on my charge sheet. Or do you think I'm the devil, too?"  
  
I've been so afraid of Lex turning into his father, I'm turning into mine. I look at him, helpless.  
  
"Lex, I'm sorry."  
  
He flips a hand, that shuttered look on his face again.  
  
"If you won't trust me, then trust Chloe. Your friend Chloe. Do you really think she'll take any crap, even from me?"  
  
She's taken enough from you. The words are unspoken. I shake my head, against the truth of it.  
  
"I'm sorry." I say, again. "I just..."  
  
"Feel responsible for everything?" Lex suddenly smiles. "Boy scout. Everyone here is an adult, Clark. Some of us more than others, admittedly. It's up to Chloe if she wants to see me again. It's up to you to decide what you want."  
  
Finally I manage a smile back. I can be happy for them.   
  
"I am so not discussing girlfriends with you again."  
  
"Clark, you are my source of secret dirt here. Don't bail on me now."  
  
And things are okay again. I can do this. And I need to get back to school before anyone misses me.  
  
  
LEX   
  
Not a good Monday. Walking to my car, I become aware that there is somebody watching me. As I stop and fish for my keys, they straighten up, step out of the lee of the 4x4 in the next bay.  
  
I find myself face to face with Pete Ross.  
  
He is probably the one person in Smallville who hates me more than Jonathan Kent does. My family took away his family business, and now I'm taking away his friends. Something about the set of his face tells me something else. Last time we were this close, he had a gun and the desire to use it, fuelled by the Nicodemus. I am profoundly glad that he isn't armed at the moment - the sane eyes looking at me are a lot more frightening.   
  
"Mr. Ross."  
  
"Luthor. This won't take long." He's shorter than I am, but more solidly built. I know he's on the bench for the football team. I really hope he doesn't take a swing at me; I would regret ending a promising career by busting his knee.   
  
"What can I do for you?"  
  
"We have , let's call it, an interest in common, okay? Now, I'm cutting you some slack, because my friends think that you're okay. I know you're not, but I'm letting it ride, because no way can a smalltown boy get away with pounding a millionaire. But I want you to make damn' sure that you treat them right. You owe it to them. You owe it to me."  
  
I respect him. I don't respect many people, but there is something about his honesty that is quite compelling. So I hold his gaze, and nod.  
  
He turns and walks away, says over his shoulder,  
  
"I'm not sorry I pulled that piece on you. I'm just sorry I don't remember it."  
  
  
All these fine, upstanding men queuing up to defend Chloe Sullivan's honour. Don't they realise that the girl could wipe the floor with me anytime she chose to do so?  
  
Still, I feel pummelled. I check my (other) phone for messages - voicemail from my father. Might as well get that out of the way. Has he found out...no, forthcoming board meeting, dinner in Metropolis, the Wichita investors on board, performance satisfactory. Satisfactory. Well, that was almost a good word. What's he up to now?  
  
The Ferrari is pulled up to the door when I get back to the house. 'Miss Sullivan' is in the library.   
  
CHLOE  
  
The world is stranger than I ever dreamt it would be. Having stormed away from Clark, I decided to seek refuge in the Torch offices. My social life has become 'Wall of Weird' material. Two days ago, I would have crumbled into little pieces if Clark had ever gotten his act together with Lana. Today, I just wish he would pull his finger out, so we can all move on. And, oh yes, I appear to have a billionaire boyfriend.  
  
I wonder if there's going to be anything waiting in the office, but it looks normal. Which is actually good, now I think about it. Too much attention could be a bad thing. The only thing on my desk is the post pile, including a small parcel.   
  
It's a 'Daily Planet' staff mug. I cannot imagine how he managed to get hold of one of these - oh, wait, yeah, lots of money - but it's such a cute thing to do.   
  
I am sitting at my desk, wearing a jacket that probably costs as much as my computer, going soft over a piece of crockery.   
  
Lana whisks round the door, and stands with her back to it, grinning.  
  
"Okay, Chloe. Spill."  
  
I have to tell somebody or I'm going to explode. I swear Lana to secrecy. The conversation descends into hormonal teenage giggling. Who would have thought it?   
  
(And a little part of me, Evil Chloe, thinks, 'see, you can't have all the men in this town.')   
  
Clark isn't around at lunchtime. But Pete is, and he and Lana and I sit in the cafeteria like it's any normal day, and denigrate the menu. School is just...school.  
  
When I get home, I find flowers on the steps. Roses would be just too ordinary - I have no idea what these are, but they are beautiful, some kind of lily, all gold and purple and orange. I never got flowers before. It makes me feel...grown up.  
  
Time to take the car back. Along with the jacket, the phone, the wallet...  
  
Yes, I did look through it. Wouldn't you? It was curiously impersonal, which didn't surprise me. Credit cards, driving licence, some business cards, enough money to buy a truck...no pictures.  
  
The new staff at Luthor Hall are obviously too well trained to look surprised at someone turning up in their boss' clothes to return a car. I find this place creepy. Getting thrown through a window will do that to a person. It's full of beautiful things, but it has no life. Like a museum. It's much too large for one man, even with an army of flunkies. And I've been waiting in the library just long enough to get nervous when Lex comes in.  
  
LEX  
  
She looks so small, still huddled in my jacket, all eyes. Nervous. I can't resist it.  
  
"Hi, honey. I'm home."  
  
It makes her laugh. Not a sound that this mausoleum has heard in a long while. And once she's more relaxed, I get to put my arms round her. She rests her hands on my chest, looks up at me with one eyebrow quirked.  
  
"Tough day at the office, dear?"  
  
"Every other red-blooded male in your life has turned up and glared at me. I feel bruised." I am going to milk this shamelessly.  
  
"Tell me about it. I was interrogated by Lana Lang - she has all the makings of a good chat show diva."  
  
"Ouch." I look down at the woman in my arms. "What do you want to do about it...us ?" A moment of fear. "Is there an us?"  
  
"There's an 'us'." She smiles at me blindingly, kisses me under the chin. "Take it one day at a time...Alexander. Where's my Sharks cap?"  
  
  
FINIS  
  
SEQUEL POSSIBLE... 


End file.
